Step-down begins Wednesday for new Powerball game

October 17, 2011 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:00 AM

Powerball will offer bigger jackpots and better odds for winning them when a new version of the game begins on Jan. 15, 2012. You can read all about the new features in our previous blog about what’s coming next year.

To prepare for the new version of Powerball, the N.C. Education Lottery will begin what’s known as a “step-down” on Powerball multidraw purchases on Wednesday, Oct. 19. The change will affect Powerball players in North Carolina who like to purchase tickets for consecutive drawings.

Starting Wednesday, Oct. 19, after the Powerball drawing at 10:59 p.m., the stepdown will begin. We will decrease the number of multidraw plays that are available for purchase each draw night by one until the game change occurs in January. North Carolina Powerball players will again be able to purchase 26 multidraw tickets on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.

Here’s the timeframe for the step-down of multidraw Powerball tickets with the number of multi-draw tickets that can be purchased as of each of these dates. The list shows the number of advance play tickets that can be purchased after the Powerball draw on that night. After 9:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19, players will not be able to purchase tickets for 26 draws until Jan. 15, 2012.

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011 – 25
Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 – 24
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011 – 23
Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011 – 22
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 – 21
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 – 20
Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011 – 19
Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 – 18
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 ¬– 17
Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 – 16
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011 – 15
Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011 – 14
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 – 13
Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011 – 12
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 – 11
Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011 – 10
Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011 – 9
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 – 8
Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011 – 7
Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 – 6
Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 – 5
Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 – 4
Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012 – 3
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012 – 2
Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2011 – 1

If you have questions about the new Powerball game, call our Player’s Hotline at (877) 962-7529.

37 COMMENTS

10/24/2011 02:49 - NC Lottery

@ BKEARNEY220 - As you can tell, we don't censor people's opinions about the lottery. But we have an obligation to encourage everyone to keep the conversation about the lottery, and not get into one-on-one disputes. Working together with members, will keep the Lucke-Zone a place where anyone can feel comfortable coming to talk about the lottery - even people who want to criticize us! :-)

10/24/2011 11:37 - Barbara K.

RKendrick-This is a blog.If you cannot handle the comments.don't read them!

10/24/2011 08:48 - NC Lottery

@ JEFF - There aren't any plans for a joint game between the NC and SC lotteries at this time. Do you ever play Carolina Cash 5? The Cash 5 jackpots can get big pretty fast with better odds of winning compared to Powerball or Mega Millions :-)

10/24/2011 08:45 - NC Lottery

@ DREYES - The payouts on scratch-offs are larger than they were when the NCEL started five years ago. It is true that many tickets won't be winners, that's what makes it possible to pay out the large prizes. Winning a lottery prize is all a matter of luck, so we wish you the best of luck.

10/24/2011 08:43 - NC Lottery

@ BKEARNEY220 - We are sharing the same info with you more than once in an effort to reach a point of understanding with you. If you review our earlier responses, what we said is: wouldn't you expect to see many winners from places with many stores and many people who play? A winning ticket, big or small, could show up at any store, in any ticket dispenser, at any time - we routinely have winners from places where just a few hundred or a few thousand people live. But the fact that there are winners from places big and small is evidence that the odds are the same everywhere, its just natural that we often have winners from places where lots of people live and play.

10/24/2011 08:36 - NC Lottery

@ SAILFISH - It's true that not every lottery ticket can be a winning ticket, that's just the nature of games of chance. But we think it's great to have awarded more prizes and provided more money to education every year for five years. We're glad that people can spend a few dollars for a chance to win without interfering with saving for a larger purchase like the trip you've been saving for.

10/24/2011 04:19 - Lillie P.

If you play the lottery play responsibly don't give income allotted for a need then wonder how you will meet your obligations. No one is guarranteed a win. The least you can do is have extra to afford things you like!

10/23/2011 10:59 - Rhonda K.

Good Grief, People stop whining, If you can't handle losing then DON'T play..I play often and have won no more than $20.00 ever..I still play because I ENJOY it, otherwise I wouldn't play..congratulations to those who have won!..

10/23/2011 03:53 - jeff l.

how about a combined state lottery between sc and nc on a pick 6/49 to raise some serious cash? it would lower odds and have big payouts

10/23/2011 03:08 - Danny R.

When is NC going to increase the number of tickets paid out in scratch offs; and start showing the number of winners left in all prizes. It seems like your printing millions of losing tickets on these new games. I was buying older games and winning at least some money back, started to play the new ones havent hit on any of them not since the Fantastic Four I hit $25 not even close to getting any money back. Im talking about buying everywhere at random from fayetteville to raleigh. 150 grand 20losing cards, 20k clubs 28losing cards, etc........even silver bells bought some yesterday the tickets look blurry havent hit. Come on NC.

10/23/2011 09:51 - Barbara K.

If we all just quit playing the lottery and let all these big winners in the same locations pay all the overhead for the employees that keep telling us the same thing over and over you would see a change.People do not have the same chance everywhere.Go back and read for yourself that people in larger populated areas have a better chance.Oh,by the way, if it were not for people buying tickets you would not exist so why are they always saying what they pay out.It is the people" still paying."

10/23/2011 09:13 - David L.

and we `ll put your name on a hit list,or as they say on Seinfeld,,,NO SOUP FOR YOU!,,lol

10/23/2011 06:11 - Terry G.

I have been trying to get you people to stop putting your money down the drain for the past 6 months, I stoped this mess and now have about $1800.00 in my little box.10 tickets bought at the coffe shop yesterday morning an not one dime did they win.And they call that FUN.

10/22/2011 11:25 - NC Lottery

@ 5GRANDS - It is true that many lottery tickets are not winning tickets, that is what makes it possible to pay out prizes, large and small, to winners. Wherever you live or buy a ticket, you have the exact same chance of winning as anyone anywhere else in the state. We've had winners all over, you just might not have read about them in the news. Let us know what county you're in and remind us to share some winner info with you on Monday when we're back in the office. Deal?

10/22/2011 11:23 - NC Lottery

@ MIKE - the lottery publishes the odds of winning so that people can decide what game of chance they might want to play. Five ball matches go from $200,000 to automatic $1 million wins in the "new" Powerball game - $2 million for Power Plays - starting in January. Our goal is to continue paying out more in prizes and, yes, raise more money for education every year. P.S., in five years, we've had five major jackpot winners in North Carolina, and we hope to have more! :-)

10/22/2011 10:25 - Angelia W.

I am reading alot of comments about the scratch-off tickets not having any winners.Sorry lottery officials, I have to agree. Luck may be what you call it but unfairness is what it is. Another point, no one on the west and southwest part of Charlotte ever wins. Can you explain that?

10/22/2011 09:25 - Mike W.

OK, for those of you who were not good at math. The "bigger jackpots" are for the people who WIN the big jackpots, not for the people who match less than 5 white balls. The odds of matching 5 white balls or more tell you that you would have to play powerball every drawing over 100 lifetimes to actually hit the jackpot. Dropping the powerball number from 39 to 35 does increase your odds but, look at how many times the powerball is 36, 37, 38, or 39. Hardly ever, much less than 1% of the time. So, the lottery will increase revenue due to their price change and the number of winners should remain the same. Keep in mind, The lottery is a business and is trying to make more money off your stupidity.

10/21/2011 05:56 - james s.

LOOKS like we need it.

10/21/2011 02:19 - NC Lottery

@ JESUTTON - It's all just a matter of luck, winning tickets can show up at any time at any of the 6,600 places across the state that sell them. We wish you and your friends the best of luck.

10/21/2011 01:37 - james s.

2 Big winners on scratch off tickets 18th & 20th.Check the page.

10/21/2011 01:28 - james s.

FAIR,fair is having winning tickets in downeast CARETERET COUNTY also.MY friends and I buy alot of tickets every WK.WE win $2 to $5.BIG winning tickets are not here.

10/21/2011 09:40 - NC Lottery

@ JESUTTON - We know people play for a fair chance to win. That's the fun of lottery games.

10/21/2011 08:54 - james s.

I agree with David.I thought we ALL plyed to WIN.Theres other things to do for fun.

10/20/2011 07:40 - NC Lottery

@ DAVID - You can view the other blog about the changes coming to Powerball by scrolling to the top of this page, and clicking the link in the first paragraph. Thank you for taking time to give us a chance to talk with you here in the Lucke-Zone

10/20/2011 07:38 - NC Lottery

@ DAVID - We did post your comment, you left comments on two different blogs about Powerball. We don't censor opinions here. Please understand you don't have to "shout" by using capital letters to get our attention. The N.C. Education Lottery is run honestly, responsibly and fairly for players. It takes luck to win a prize, whether its big or small but the odds are the same wherever you live, wherever you play. Games of chance are supposed to be for your entertainment, so if you choose to play, we hope you'll choose to play for fun.

10/20/2011 05:48 - David L.

HEHE,,,,DID I SAY SOMETHING WRONG,,,LOL,,WHY DON`T YOU PUT WHAT I WROTE ON THE BLOG?? SO EVERYONE CAN READ IT,,,YOU PUT YOUR COMMENT TO ME SO EVERYONE COULD READ IT.LIKE I SAID LET`S PLAY FAIR.

10/20/2011 05:32 - David L.

WERE DID HE AND THE REST BUY THEM???,,,NOT IN STORES IN CLAY COUNTY,,,,THEY BOUGHT THEM IN BUNCOMBE COUNTY,HAYWOOD COUNTY MEGLINBURG COUNTY,,,,DO YOUR HOME WORK,,AND LOOK AT ALL THE WINNERS AND WERE THEY ARE FROM IN THE STATE! IT`S POSTED ON THE NORTH CAROLINA LOTTERY HOME PAGE,,

10/20/2011 04:54 - NC Lottery

@ DAVID28904 - Well, we are guessing the 28904 in your screenname refers to your zipcode, which would put you in Hayesville, in Clay County. Five of the lottery's ~6600 retailers are in Clay County, where players have won more than $902,000 in prizes. The biggest by far went to a Hayesville man in 2008 who won a $143,234 Cash 5 jackpot. Y'all might only have a tenth of one percent of the N.C. population living in Clay County, but y'all have got the same chance of winning as someone who buys a ticket in a big city, so we wish you the best of luck! :-)

10/20/2011 04:34 - David L.

Well I play Power Ball all the time and the scratch tickets,So the power Ball well have a Bigger jackpot,OK,,now my question is!!Is our so call Governor Miss. B Perdue,going to change the rules so the People of Western part of the State can have the same chances as the Eastern part have??,,,(Oh yes there our more county's past Asheville)

10/20/2011 04:04 - NC Lottery

@ DBEN002 - We suggest you read our previous blog entry (also mentioned at the beginning of this blog) about all the new features. The number of ball combinations is changing as part of the new Powerball coming in January: http://bit.ly/jzxbAD

10/20/2011 03:00 - Don B.

above response states "we think the bigger jackpots and better odds will appeal to many players". News Flash: odds of winning do not change unless the number of balls or the number of power ball choices decrease. The the number of balls remains the same the odds of winning remain the same. Even if you were the ONLY player in the world. The odds of winning are predicated on the number of ball combinations ......so..... HOW ARE THEY GOING TO INCREASE THE ODDS OF WINNING ???????? I see no mention of that.

10/18/2011 09:01 - NC Lottery

@ NINA - Lottery games in North Carolina range anywhere from $1 to $20 per ticket, and are popular with a range of different players. If you would rather play a $1 jackpot game, Mega Millions will remain $1 per ticket with the $1 add-on for Megaplier. Carolina Cash 5 is another $1 jackpot game, with better odds of winning since tickets are only sold here in North Carolina. We know not everyone will embrace the changes to Powerball, but we think the bigger jackpots and better odds will appeal to many players :-)

10/18/2011 08:22 - henrietta m.

Sounds Good, I just gotta win it now. I will be playing. My chances inreases just a little and iam gonna catch thats a promise.

10/18/2011 06:36 - Nina W.

By doubling the price of a ticket, you are potentially going to "price out" some loyal powerball players even though you may have improved the odds and amounts of winning. Ever think of that? I've heard of people spending their last $1 on a ticket and winning the jackpot; what if it had cost $2.

10/17/2011 03:51 - NC Lottery

@ BUN - No, what it means is the maximum number of advance draws you can get on one ticket for Wednesday's drawing is 25. The maximum is 25, but you can get anywhere from one to 25 draws on that ticket. Then, for Saturday, the maximum number of advance draws you can get on a ticket for that drawing is 24. But you could get just one or two, its up to you. The point is, we have to "step down" the number of advance draws because the game is going to change in January, and we can't have advance tickets out there for the new game, with the new features and the new rules. Sound good? :-)

10/17/2011 02:19 - Claudette T.

Looks good to me...

10/17/2011 10:32 - henrietta m.

Am I correct,? You have to buy at lest $26 to play the step down powerball?????

Progressive Jackpot Estimate

Win up to $1,000,000 every 4 minutes

Big Thrills Served Fast.

Step-down begins Wednesday for new Powerball game

October 17, 2011 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:00 AM

Helpful Links

Get the Mobile App

No Longer Just a Game? There's Help